16.5 Life to Tend to

General Summary

Day 191

Travel is harder after the fight with the lizard but we are spurred on by the feeling of the world coming to life again around us. There is running water occasionally and the beginnings of green things.   Bran is still incomprehensible and Nina expresses her fear that he won’t recover. As a group we talk about how adventures can change people. Not always in a good or bad way, and how sometimes what seems like a bad change doesn’t have to be that way.  

Day 192

We find our way back into a full magic area. Facing away from us is a boulder with fae writing: Danger ahead and no magic for flight. Avoid at all possible.  

Day 193

As dusk settles and we begin looking for a place to camp, we hear music in the distance. It is distinctly fae and we hurry to approach and try to make friends.   We find a collection of colourful wagons surrounding a giant tent, resplendent with many colours and types of fabrics and lights. The fae dancing around the fire stop and reach for weapons as we approach until Camellia flies forwards and greets them.   With weapons lowered, we join their camp. They are all spring and summer, nearly 20 of them, ranging in age from 4 to 10. Regir, a summer fae, is the eldest.   The night passes merrily with dancing and music. Bran is given soft cushions at a place where he is easily included in the socializing.  

Day 194

In the morning I’m greeted by Sefli, a young spring fae. We talk about travel and trolls and it feels mundane and wonderful.   I note that many of the young fae are quite free with their affections, something lost on Hella but not on Miriam, who makes cautious attempts at reciprocating when a fae girl flirts with her. I give her an encouraging wink.   As the day passes, Regir and I meet to discuss our plans. He asks after any elves I might be searching for and we compare names the way Seekers do.   But the real wonder here is that he, too, seems to be searching for Dreamfall. The songs he describes hearing are familiar to me from Magdalena’s description of the place and I eagerly show him the location on our map.